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Li Qi was prepared for this outcome.

Crushed by the historical river of fifth-rank Confucian scholar, and then backfired by the formation of the Imperial Garden, it even managed to forcibly destroy an item despite the damage.

It's more accurate to say that they're already very lucky not to have vanished completely.

"Can this... still live?" Li Qi pointed to the Trumpet Flower.

"How rude of you, young master! I am only injured, not dead." The voice of the Trumpet Flower God came from the Trumpet Flower.

"You're still alive... You're really something, how did you survive?" Li Qi asked curiously.

At this moment, the Peony Flower God spoke, saying softly, "Although the Baiyue Sovereign has a clear background, he still has some merits."

Upon hearing this, Li Qi immediately understood.

If we were to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of the Baiyue Sovereign, it would naturally be the existence of that 'kingdom'. The kingdom itself is an obvious weakness, and one that is essentially impossible to defend against.

But this is also an advantage, that is, as the foundation of the Dao, as long as that country does not perish, the ruler himself will be very difficult to die.

"Did you let the fate of the nation bear the other fatal damage for you? Then Lingxiao Kingdom will probably suffer disasters year after year, and I don't know how many people will die..." Li Qi sighed.

"No matter how great the disaster, we can handle it if we are alive," said the Trumpet Flower God.

For some reason, when Li Qi heard her voice, he felt... as if she had let go of something. Although she was severely injured and couldn't even Form Transformation, but...

It felt like her cultivation had improved, and all the restraints on her body had been lifted.

Li Qi wanted to say something, but when he saw the Peony Flower God take a step forward, he immediately stepped back and walked to Zhong Minglou's side, pulling him back to give the Peony Flower God and the Trumpet Flower God space to chat privately.

However, he was also cunning enough not to retreat too far, but simply made a 'I'm not listening' gesture, but in reality he could still hear him.

He wasn't planning to leave as long as the Peony Flower God didn't tell him to go.

He wanted to hear what had happened.

Sure enough, the Peony Flower God did not chase people away; she simply stood in front of the Trumpet Flower God and stroked her petals.

"Is it worth it?" the Peony Flower God asked.

"Senior, you are wise. I am free. I will accept all punishments that follow," said the Trumpet Flower God.

"I don't understand. I tried to persuade you, but you wouldn't listen at the time. Later, you were driven out of Shangyuan. I thought you would go to the Buddhist Kingdom, but you went to Baiyue and are still preparing to return. I thought you would keep going and forge your own path."

"But at this critical juncture, you chose to shatter the Lingxiao Cave Heaven, severing your foundation in the Upper Garden. Why is that?"

The Peony Flower God asked in a soft voice.

Her voice was quite pleasant, seemingly capable of cleansing the soul.

"Everything is predestined. Perhaps meeting that young master of Wushen Mountain was the destiny of this time... I wouldn't listen to a thousand people saying it a thousand times, but this time he enlightened me with a single word. I don't know why, but there's no need to investigate the reason. Sometimes, once you understand, you understand." The Trumpet Flower God swayed her flower branches and spoke.

"Indeed, so now you no longer have the title of 'Flower Goddess'. The Lingxiao Cave Heaven has been shattered, and your status as Flower Goddess has been broken. Although this is a good thing for you, there is no place for you in Chang'an. Do you have any plans?" the Peony Flower God asked.

Li Qi, who was listening to all this, seemed to understand something.

The word "cowardice" that she herself uttered seemed to have shaken the Dao heart of the Trumpet Flower God.

However, she was not defeated by this. Instead, she stabilized her resolve amidst the chaos and found her own answer.

Therefore, she chose to shatter the Lingxiao Cave Heaven.

The Hundred Flowers Cave is itself a component of the Upper Garden Grand Array. The energy of the entire Upper Garden Grand Array is provided by the Hundred Flowers Cave, which is why the array reacts so violently.

However, the Peony Flower God intervened and saved the life of the Trumpet Flower God.

Therefore, it seems there must have been countless other things behind the fact that the Trumpet Flower God left Chang'an.

But that's their private matter.

Everyone has countless stories, and everyone is the protagonist of their own story, but few people care about what stories you have, even if you have had a passionate love affair or a warm and kind family.

But apart from you and the people around you, no one cares about these things, just like now.

Li Qi didn't care at all what the Trumpet Flower God had gone through; he was only worried about how to sell his Witchcraft Silkworm afterward.

However, this subjective feeling is also mutual.

In reality, neither the current Peony Flower God nor the Trumpet Flower God cares what Li Qi thinks; they simply don't care about each other.

But then the Peony Flower God lowered her voice and whispered something to the Trumpet Flower God.

Seeing this, Li Qi understood that the Peony Flower God didn't want anyone else to hear what she was about to say.

So he looked at Zhong Minglou beside him and asked, "Senior brother, how did you find the Peony Flower God?"

"Hmm...follow the line, find it." Zhong Minglou thought for a moment and then answered.

"Line? What line?" Li Qi asked in confusion.

"There are connections between people; you can find them by following those connections," Zhong Minglou said.

Li Qi was stunned for a moment. He was a little confused. What did it mean to be connected by a 'line'?

However, in just a few seconds, Li Qi suddenly realized something.

Cause and effect!?

The causal relationship between people!?

Zhong Minglou can directly see the causal lines and find people by following the causal path?

What the heck!

However, Li Qi immediately realized why Zhong Minglou had never mentioned the source of his abilities before, but had revealed it this time.

"Senior brother, you've never mentioned this before..." Li Qi asked immediately.

Zhong Minglou revealed his usual gentle smile and said lightly, "I always felt that I couldn't tell you before, so I didn't say anything. But seeing you just now, I feel like it has nothing to do with telling you."

That's a very charlatan-like answer.

There's no reason, it's just a 'feeling', and you only need to follow your feelings.

Li Qi keenly noticed the difference.

In other words...

After he realized "who I am" and became aware of the existence of the "web of cause and effect," Zhong Minglou immediately sensed it and felt that "he could tell Li Qi."

This charlatan... what exactly is his Trump Card?

That's a bit outrageous.

However, Li Qi did not ask Zhong Minglou how he did it.

There's no need for that. He probably doesn't even know how he did it. Zhong Minglou seems to have a talent that allows him to naturally know whether a situation will have a good or bad outcome, what to do, and how to avoid or welcome it.

This talent is essentially no different from Bo Yue's Demon Seed and Li Qi's true knowledge.

It was precisely because of this talent that he was chosen by the Great Shaman to become one of the 'Young Masters of the Wushen Mountain'.

Only...

While the Demon Seed and True Knowledge are strange talents, they are still somewhat understandable. However, Zhong Minglou's talents are simply too bizarre.

Li Qi was very curious.

So he asked, "Senior Brother Zhong, what do you think... why am I me? If another person with the same memories and body appeared in front of you, how would you determine that you are you?"

He used to be hesitant to ask questions, fearing that other people's answers would influence his own, causing errors that would require a huge price to make up for, or even be impossible to fix.

Of course, sometimes other people's answers can be very impactful, and may even lead to a sudden enlightenment, allowing answers that have been pondered for hundreds of years to suddenly emerge.

All of these are possible, but nobody knows which one to choose.

Before the consequences occur, no one knows whether their previous choices were right or wrong, so everyone can only choose according to their own conscience.

That way, even if your choices bring bad consequences, you won't regret it.

But things are different now. Li Qi already has his own answer, so there's no harm in listening to other people's answers.

Upon hearing Li Qi's question, Li Qi suddenly noticed that Zhong Minglou's eyes lost their luster and his body stiffened instantly.

According to True Knowledge Dao Charm, Zhong Minglou's eyes were covered by a cloth and he couldn't see with the naked eye, but True Knowledge Dao Charm wasn't blocked by a layer of cloth, so he could still detect that something was wrong.

Um?

What happened? Did this problem crash his computer?

But soon, Zhong Minglou blinked and returned to normal.

However, he looked troubled, fiddled with his blindfold, and said after a moment's thought, "This question... is so pointed. I have a feeling that this question is very important, and if I say it casually, it will have an uncertain impact on the future."

"Then forget it, Senior Brother, there's no need to force me." Li Qi shook his head, not pressuring him to speak.

Zhong Minglou, you're really something.

From this perspective, his sixth sense is incredibly powerful, and he can even see the lines of cause and effect.

Even if he was a diviner, this is too outrageous. Bo Yue was also a diviner, but the difference between the two is truly enormous.

"I'm not forcing you... but I feel I can say a little bit." Zhong Minglou thought for a moment and then said this.

Then he began to narrate. "Each of us is connected by countless lines, so the one connected by the lines must be ourselves. These lines will not break or move."

Li Qi nodded.

The answer was almost identical to his own, which put his mind at ease. If someone who could see the cause-and-effect line said so, then it could be considered as confirmation.

At this point, Li Qi had one last question, so he asked, "Senior brother... even if you have the guidance of causal threads, meeting the Peony Flower God wouldn't be so simple, would it? How did you manage to do it?"

This was also one of Li Qi's biggest doubts.

Is divination some kind of omnipotent power? Is he a diviner or omniscient? How exactly can a complete stranger find the Peony Flower God?

Zhong Minglou did not hide anything from this, and pointed to a pavilion in the outer garden.

Li Qi looked in the direction he was pointing.

There was someone secretly hiding over there.

Judging from her appearance and the aura emanating from her...

Unable to see through them, the other party concealed their aura and disguised their appearance.

However, Li Qi has a cheat code.

True Knowledge Dao Charm and the information flow perspective, even the most ordinary disguise can be easily seen through.

That person is... Iron Begonia?

Crown of Thorns, also known as Iron Begonia, is basically a thorny flower. Li Qi had heard of it, and it seemed to have a rather controversial reputation.

People who like her really like her, while people who hate her find her sharp-tongued and therefore extremely disgusted.

Um...

Did Iron Begonia introduce Zhong Minglou to the Peony Flower God?

Is this even possible? Wasn't this person supposed to have a bad reputation?

However, just as Li Qi was looking, he seemed to have been discovered. Suddenly, a wave of energy surged towards him, making Li Qi dizzy.

The fluctuation didn't cause any harm, but it still made Li Qi lose his composure for a moment.

By the time he recovered, Iron Begonia, who had been standing there, had already disappeared.

Um...

Everyone has their own ideas.

Li Qi shook his head and said nothing more.

So Zhong Minglou stopped talking, and the two of them just stood there waiting.

Li Qi felt that after the Trumpet Flower God appeared, he would have something to say to her.

As for why Zhong Minglou stayed here, Li Qi had no idea.

While waiting, Li Qi looked around at the surrounding scenery. The Shangyuan Garden showed almost no signs of damage, and the formation protected everything very well.

However, since Lingxiao Cave Heaven has been shattered, other flowers will definitely be needed to fill this void.

Many wildflowers and weeds have this opportunity; they might just be able to be recognized among all the flowers.

It's likely to be another open and covert struggle, and it might even escalate into a bloody conflict.

Different stories are happening all the time in this world.

Li Qi sighed again.

In most cases, he is just an observer and rarely gets involved in something personally, which is consistent with his style of doing things.

If it's not necessary, then why not study hard, improve yourself every day, and gradually enhance your abilities? Only fools and people who can't survive and are driven by life to struggle would think about causing trouble all over the world.

Just as Li Qi was thinking about these things, suddenly, the voice of the Peony Flower God came.

"Young Master, Ling Xiao has something he would like to discuss with you. Could you spare a moment?" The Peony Flower God's polite voice rang in Li Qi's ears.

"It would be my greatest honor," Li Qi replied immediately.

Then he strode toward the Trumpet Flower God.

When they reached the Trumpet Flower, they saw that the Peony Flower God had already left, and... she had left with Zhong Minglou.

Is that why Zhong Minglou has survived to this day?

Never mind, don't worry about it.

Let's take a look at the Trumpet Flower God instead.

Thinking this, Li Qi looked at the Trumpet Flower: "The Flower Goddess looks like this now... Have you thought it through? She'll probably face imprisonment later."

The Trumpet Flower creeper swayed and said, "Young masters need not worry. I summoned you here only to settle our karmic debts. Although it was a mutual exploitation, you did not do anything to wrong me. I, however, used many underhanded methods and delayed your business. I am truly sorry."

"However, I see that you are doing business for the sake of making money. This item is the essence of Lingxiao Cave Heaven. Please accept it as a token of my apology."

"Furthermore, please come closer, young master, I have something important to tell you."